NASA and the Space Program Change FloridaPhotos and History

"Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle Has Landed."

The Apollo 11 mission fulfilled the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 when he addressed Congress with the statement: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. landed in the Sea of Tranquility and became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia. The three astronauts returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.

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